Dead Last Blossom
by Solemn Nonsense
Summary: Civilian born and bred, Haruno Sakuya has no great aspirations in the world of ninjas. Yet here he is, the dead last, on a team with Namikaze Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, the top two Academy graduates of the year. Sakuya proves to be more than his Dead Last label, but just being good isn't enough when it comes to his high-profile teammates. Male!Sakura AU Non-massacre


General Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Cover Image is not by me. I found the picture on google and thought it fitted the theme of this story. If you happen to know the name of the artist please let me know so that I can give due credit.

Translation Note: There is an instance where Kakashi refers to Itachi as Sasuke's "stupid brother," which when translated into Japanese is "baka-aniki" and that just means a very doting brother. Usually the term is used for parents ("baka-oya") who dote on their child too much. "Baka" can mean many things in Japanese depending on its compound and usage. In this case, Kakashi is making a pun. The first use of "baka" means "(overly) doting" and the second means plain "stupid."

Edited on 2/3/2017 for content, dialogue, and typos. For those who've already read this chapter once through, please check the ending at least, as I have added a few extra lines pertaining to character development. It was meant to go in chapter 2, but the flow wasn't right.

* * *

 _The last flower to bloom is the most enduring._

 **Chapter 1**

Due to the imbalanced ratio of male to female students in that year's graduating class, one of the genin teams would end up with three boys.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke in the next seat over and grinned. Sasuke returned the look with a smirk. As long as Sasuke was on his team Naruto didn't care whom the third member was. Thought a boy might be better since with a girl there was a very high possibility of getting a fangirl, and wouldn't that be a nightmare? Between him and Sasuke, there wasn't a single girl in the graduating class who wasn't a fangirl of either one of them. But because of this reason, all the boys in class were sour with Naruto and Sasuke.

The silver lining with a boy laid in the fact that Naruto could pummel the boy's face into the ground if the boy got too annoying, whereas he was taught to be gentler with girls. Because honestly, girls were fucking scary when they're pissed. His mother was a prime example. Unless they're talking about enemy kunoichi, then it was no holds barred, because the kunoichi would probably be pissed at him for just being an enemy.

"Team Seven: Namikaze Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke…"

Naruto pumped his fist in the air and cheered.

Sasuke smirked at him in amusement. "Dobe."

There was no bite in the word so Naruto just thumbed his nose at Sasuke and said, "Teme."

"… and Haruno Sakuya," Iruka finished.

Naruto looked around for their third team member and immediately spotted the shocking head of pink hair in the last row by the windows. Naruto didn't know Sakuya that well but it was hard to forget a boy with _pink_ hair.

Naruto racked his brain for information on the pink haired boy and came up surprisingly empty. He dismissed the lack of intel on the boy's civilian background. The civilians in his class weren't that interesting. They were loud and boastful with delusions of the shinobi lifestyle, and many of them would end up in the Genin Corps anyways.

What Naruto did know was that the boy's rankings were scrapping the bottom of the barrel and that he often slid into class right as the bell was ringing. Sometimes he came in late and would rub the back of his head in embarrassment with his head bowed, an action that reminded him a little of Obito-niichan. Asides from that, the boy was freakishly quiet and didn't have a regular group of friends.

He shared a glance with Sasuke, who wasn't frowning per se, but there was this tick in his fingers that Naruto had learned to read. Concerning Haruno Sakuya, civilian extraordinaire, they were going to have their work cut out for them.

When one by one all the other genin hopefuls left with their jonin-sensei until only Team Seven was left, Naruto exchanged another look with Sasuke. With a nod to each other, they rounded on their last teammate who had yet to move from his seat in the corner.

Sensing eyes on him, Sakuya looked up from a scroll, and… did he just let out a squeak? That was so unbecoming of a boy let alone a ninja. Naruto can't even… he shook his head and forged on.

"Sakuya-kun?" Naruto sang each syllable of the name, including the honorific.

Sakuya fumbled with his scroll, lost his grip, and the scroll rolled out of his hands and under his desk. He tried to go after the scroll only to bang his head on the desk in his haste and the scroll rolled out of his reach. Sakuya straightened up with a hand pressed against his reddening forehead. "Y- Yes? Na- Namikaze… san?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto saw Sasuke bent to retrieve the wayward scroll.

Naruto laughed boisterously and clapped Sakuya on the shoulder. The pink haired boy flinched at the contact, although Naruto didn't think he had used a lot of strength. "Don't be shy, Sakura-kun. We're teammates now. We should get to know one another."

"Uh…"

Sasuke rolled up the scroll and handed it back to Sakuya.

"T- Thank you," Sakuya inclined his head at the Uchiha.

"Hey, hey, what were you reading?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing much," Sakuya mumbled and shoved the scroll into his pack.

Naruto held back a frown at the subtle snub, but persisted nonetheless. "So tell us a bit about yourself."

"Huh?"

"You know, your likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future… that sort of stuff."

Sakuya looked so flummoxed by Naruto's line of questioning that the blond might as well have smacked him with a dead fish. "Uh… why?"

If Sakuya hadn't sounded so honestly confused, Naruto might have really summoned a wet fish to smack the other boy with, never mind that he had never heard of a fish summons before.

Sasuke interjected. "What Naruto means is it would be prudent to know each other better to facilitate better teamwork."

"What?" Sakuya said.

Naruto couldn't resist any longer. He physically buried his face in his hand. The civilian literally _cannot_ be that stupid. Sure, he's the dead last, but the fact that he managed to scrape by graduation means he can't be _that_ dumb. All the truly incompetent students were weeded out by their third year in the Academy, unless the flower boy before him really was just that lucky.

Naruto refused to believe it.

"Sorry I'm late."

Naruto's ears perked up at the voice, already having identified the person before he whirled around with the force of a mini maelstrom and leveled an accusing finger at their jonin-sensei. "Obito-niichan, you're late!"

"I know, I know. I saw an old man carrying-"

"Save it, Obito-nii." Sasuke crossed his arms and sighed.

Obito let out a nervous chuckle. Out of all the teams he could be assigned, he got the one team that had already lost all respect for him. Why? Obito lamented inside his head. Curse you, Madara. Indra. And whoever else was up there laughing at his predicament.

"So you're our jonin-sensei, huh?" Sasuke stated.

"Why couldn't tou-chan assign us someone better?" Naruto tacked on. "Were all the good jonin out on missions?"

"Hey!" Obito exclaimed in protest.

"Ah…"

Obito leaned sideways and beamed at the last member in the team. "Hey there! My name is Uchiha Obito. Nice to meet cha."

Sakuya had a deer in the headlights look on his face before he schooled his expression and nodded to their jonin-sensei in greeting. "Haruno Sakuya. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Did you guys get acquainted yet?" Obito asked.

"Oh, with Sakuma-kun?" Naruto said. "Yeah, kind of."

"Great." Obito clapped his hands. "Let's get you guys started on some exercise then."

"Ooh, ooh, you mean the bell test?" Naruto asked.

Obito arched an eyebrow. "No, Naruto. It defeats the purpose of the secret test when you already know that there's going to be a test."

"Secret test?" Sakuya spoke up.

"Yeah." Sasuke explained the hidden test to Sakuya and the sixty-six percent fail rate.

Sakuya visibly paled at his explanation.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Obito hastened to assure the pink haired boy. "You guys pass anyways."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed.

Obito huffed. "Don't be stupid, Naruto. The son of the Yondaime and the son of the Uchiha clan head… How can I politically fail the two of you?"

"But- But- that's-"

"Nepotism," Sasuke continued for Naruto. "Deal with it." He sighed, evidently not pleased, but not fighting the system either.

"But I _wanted_ to do the bell test," Naruto whined.

"It's pointless to give you guys the bell test. I'm not going to waste time on it," Obito said.

Sasuke snorted and muttered, " _You're_ concerned about time?"

"I heard that!"

Having found his voice again Sakuya asked, "So sensei, what will we be doing instead?"

"Sakuya-kun!" Obito threw himself on Sakuya's desk. Finally, a respectful student!

Sakuya scooted back in shock and would've tipped over in his chair if he weren't already so close to the back wall.

"Excellent question," Obito beamed. "I am going to test the three of you on each major aspect of the ninja arts so that I can gauge your skills and come up with individualized training menus for each of you. Your first task is to meet me on training ground seven."

"That's the furthest training ground from the Academy!" Naruto said.

"Consider it a warm up. And I want all three of you to run full throttle on the ground." Obito gave a meaningful look to Sasuke and Naruto.

Sakuya raised an eyebrow in question. If they didn't run on the ground where else were they going to run?

"First one there gets bonus points." Obito announced cheerily and then he disappeared in a Body Flicker.

"Keh. Come on, Sasuke! We'll show him," Naruto stomped out of the classroom.

Sasuke turned to Sakuya. "Do you know how to get to training ground seven?"

Sakuya's eyes glazed over. After a few seconds of silence he nodded. "Yes."

"Good. I'm going after Naruto before he does something stupid. Catch up to us, okay?" With that Sasuke chased after his longtime friend.

As expected, Naruto was the first to arrive on the scene with Sasuke following close behind. Sakuya was nowhere to be seen.

"Did you guys leave your teammate behind?" Obito scolded.

"Haruno will find his way here eventually," Naruto said dismissively. His sprint to training ground seven had worked out some of the tension, but his displeasure at the entire situation was still evident. Though it was only evident to Obito because of their long acquaintance with each other, for Naruto's face was deceivingly calm and unruffled, a marked change from the boisterous boy in the classroom.

Obito frowned, but relented with a sigh. No use wasting time, right? So he set to testing Naruto first, while they waited for the third member.

Halfway through testing Sasuke in ninjutsu, Sakuya showed up. Naruto who was watching the testing from the sidelines now turned his attention on Sakuya. The pink haired boy was panting slightly and there was a faint sheen of sweat on his brow, but other than that, it didn't look like the boy had ran all that hard. Of course, Naruto and Sasuke were hardly winded when they arrived and there was barely a drop of sweat on them, but Naruto knew not to hold a civilian to those same standards. So after adjusting his mental rubric for a civilian of Sakuya's rank, Naruto came to the conclusion that the boy hadn't bothered to run here seriously. Naruto gritted his teeth. Was the civilian even trying?

Sakuya was hunched over catching his breath and thus didn't see the stray fireball heading his way until it was too late to dodge.

 _Shit_.

Naruto moved.

"Oof!" Something hard knocked against Sakuya's jaw and his teeth clanked together making his skull vibrate. Next thing he knew he was laying on the grass as a fireball flew above him. Sakuya blinked rapidly in surprise and tried to get up only to find a heavy weight on his chest.

"Ow ow ow," Naruto rubbed his reddened forehead as he pushed himself off Sakuya.

"Na- Namikaze-san?"

"You okay there, Sakuyo-kun?"

"I, uh…"

"Naruto! Sakuya! Are you guys okay?" Obito called.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke ran over to them. "Sorry, sorry." He hauled Naruto up and then offered Sakuya a hand.

Sakuya hesitated a minute too long and Sasuke retracted his hand awkwardly. Obito went right behind Sakuya and lifted the boy up by the armpits. Sakuya squeaked and stumbled away once he was on his feet.

"All right. You're good to go, Sasuke. I've seen enough. You two are done for the day. Sakuya? It's your turn now."

Sakuya straightened up. "Yes."

Obito cocked his head to the side. "Do you need a minute to catch your breath?"

Sakuya's eyes widened at the question. He blinked a few times. Then he shook his head. "No, sir."

"All right. Let's get started then."

xxx

Team Seven was… weird, Sakuya concluded.

He had expectations when he signed up for the ninja lifestyle. He did not have the same bright-eyed speculations of glory and heroism that his peers seemed to entertain. He knew the life of a ninja was one of servitude and shrouded in darkness. Only one in a thousand ninjas lived through the experience and rose to make a name for themselves.

Sakuya had no delusions of fame.

He knew he was as mundane as they came. He was more likely to end up as cannon fodder, dead on a field somewhere, maybe in a ditch, probably far from home too. At most, he could aspire to become a career chunin and eventually retire from the active life to be a paper pusher, probably at the cost of losing a limb or two.

Sakuya was not deceived into thinking being a ninja was something flashy, noble, or cool. One need only to read the standard shinobi code (actually read it, not skim it as his peers were wont to do) to know what the village expected of a model ninja, and no amount of colorful propaganda or rose-tinted words was going to cover the morbid truth written in black and white.

And Sakuya? He was fine with that.

He was aware of how dispensable his life was in the grand scheme of things. He did not expect there to be pity or for there to be help. If he wanted to get through this life intact then he was going to have to pull through on his own. The ninja world was a gory, coldblooded place. There was no room for compassion. No room for warmth.

Sakuya understood all this.

Which was why he found Team Seven confusing.

Sakuya didn't understand why Namikaze-san was going out of the way to be cheery around him when it was so obviously forced, asking questions like what were Sakuya's likes and dislikes. What did it matter to a ninja? Even if a ninja didn't like something he or she still had to do it if it was a part of the mission. It would've made more sense for Namikaze-san to ask about strengths and weaknesses. But then again, that wasn't information that a ninja should readily give out either. Teammates or not, they were still strangers to each other.

Sakuya have never been close with Namikaze-san, but he did notice things about his classmates and potential future teammates. Although Sakuya had expected a more mediocre team, so he had studied his fellow civilian-born ninja classmates more, since the likelihood of being on a team with them seemed higher. Sakuya never guessed that his dismal grades would land him with _two_ high profile ninja teammates.

Anyways, back at the Academy Sakuya had observed Namikaze-san to be an aloof sort of person by default. He only cranked up the cheer when someone other than Sasuke approached him. Yet he never really tried to get to know his classmates and he didn't let anyone get close to him either. The only person he made an exception for was Sasuke.

Sakuya noticed this in passing observation from his seat at the back of the classroom. If even _Sakuya_ could see this from a glance, he was surprised that his classmates did not, or perhaps they just chose to ignore the obvious in an effort to get close to the blond. Either way, Sakuya didn't think Namikaze-san's aloof disposition would change even if they were on the same team together, which was why Namikaze-san's behavior confused Sakuya.

Between being cheerful and friendly one moment to trying to nettle him by messing up his name on purpose in the next moment, Sakuya did not understand what Namikaze-san's intentions were, at all. It wasn't like Sakuya had tried to get close to the blond boy. There was no reason for Namikaze-san to react to Sakuya's presence at all. As far as Sakuya was concerned, Namikaze-san need not be friendly, as long as the mission was completed. It was unnecessary for ninjas to be friendly. They only have to be professional.

Still, Namikaze-san did push him out of the way of Uchiha-san's fireball. Sakuya still had to thank him for the assist, though finding the right opportunity was hard, and as more and more time passed, the harder it became.

Uchiha-san, on the other hand, was easier to assess. He wasn't overly friendly with Sakuya, but he treated Sakuya with the same politeness as he did the rest of his peers. Uchiha-san was also observant enough to note when something might be less than obvious for the civilian-born in their group and offer a ready explanation. It might be par for the course for someone of his breeding, but the Uchiha was very useful to Sakuya.

Lastly, was Obito-sensei. For an elite ninja, Sakuya had expected him to be closer to the description of a model ninja, but he was so far from that image that he blew Sakuya's expectations out of the water and onto another planet entirely. Obito-sensei was genuinely cheerful, unlike Namikaze-san. He was never punctual (which was a detriment to any mission). His lies were unbelievable. He joked a lot and he laughed too much. The darkness and blood of their career path should've leeched the life from his eyes, but Obito-sensei was so vibrant. Like the sun. He was an antithesis for a ninja.

And that confused Sakuya.

Sakuya also did not understand what painting a house had to do with being a ninja, but apparently there _were_ people who asked for such mundane missions from _ninjas_.

Sakuya screamed and threw his paintbrush up in the air when a hand came down on his shoulder. "Obito-sensei?" Sakuya asked, startled. He discreetly slipped the kunai he drew back into his weapons pouch.

Obito raised an eyebrow but did not comment on Sakuya's reaction. He caught the paintbrush on its way down. Flecks of white paint splattered their noses. "I noticed you're not painting the front of the house with Sasuke and Naruto."

"It made more sense to split up the work," Sakuya replied.

"Right… Anyways you're done here. The other two will finish up the house."

"Sensei?"

"Come with me."

Sakuya followed Obito over to a copse of trees.

"I'm going to teach you tree walking today." Obito walked vertically up the trunk of the tree. Then he explained the principle of applying chakra to the soles of the feet to stick to the tree. "Once you get your chakra to work, the key is to be mindful of gravity."

Sakuya's eyes widened as he watched his sensei. He could see the other useful applications of such a technique. Apparently, running on the ground wasn't the only option when you have enough chakra. There was just one thing that puzzled him. "Why are you teaching me this?"

"Erm, because I'm your teacher?" Obito said.

Sakuya shook his head. "I mean, why are you only teaching me. What about Uchiha-san and Namikaze-san?"

Obito blinked as if _he_ was the one puzzled. Then he smiled down at Sakuya. "Your teammates have already mastered this technique under their parents, which is why I want to use this D-rank mission time for you to catch up on training."

"O- Oh."

Obito walked back down the tree trunk. Firm control of his abdominal and back muscles kept his body parallel to the ground as he walked. Once he was right side up back on the ground, he turned to Sakuya expectantly. "Now it's your turn. Don't worry about falling. If it looks like you're going to break something I'll catch you."

That… was somewhat reassuring. But that also meant Obito wouldn't catch Sakuya if he fell from a low enough height. Sakuya took a deep breath, resolved to be nursing bruises for the rest of the week, concentrated chakra to the soles of his feet and took a vertical step up. Then another. And another. Until he reached the first branch.

Obito looked up with his jaw unhinged at the ease with which Sakuya completed the chakra exercise. "Keep going," he encouraged.

So Sakuya kept walking, trusting in his teacher to catch him if he slipped up. Soon, he went as high up the tree as he could go without the thin branches snapping beneath his weight. He stopped then and eased himself onto the branch to rest. His head was swimming and he was experiencing a sudden case of vertigo.

"You doing all right up there?" Obito called.

Sakuya took several moments to re-orientate himself. "Yes."

"Okay. Come back down."

Sakuya wanted to rest a little longer, but a good ninja obeyed orders. "Yes, sir." He tightened his muscles, applied chakra to his feet, and carefully stepped back onto the trunk.

He was halfway down the trunk when his chakra sputtered and then both of his feet slid out from under him without preamble. It was like walking on a newly waxed floor. His feet lost its grip on the surface and he just slipped.

Sakuya had enough time for one curse word before Obito caught him midair, bridal style. "I think that's the first time I heard you curse," Obito smiled. He launched off the side of the tree and landed safely back on solid ground.

"Sorry, sir."

"There's no need to be sorry," Obito said, amused.

"I couldn't complete the task," Sakuya said.

Obito blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I fell."

"You-" Obito laughed. "You did wonderful, Sakuya. I didn't expect you to stick to the tree on your first try. It's my fault. I overestimated your chakra reserves."

"Sorry," Sakuya mumbled again, feeling useless for his pitiful supply of chakra. Namikaze-san and Uchiha-san would not be tired after such a short stint, but he was already wiped out.

"Hey now, don't beat yourself up over it. You can't help what you're born with. You can only do your best to improve what you have. And next time you feel something wrong during training, tell me."

"I don't… yes, sensei."

Obito nodded in approval.

"Sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you put me down now?"

xxx

"Why Haruno Sakuya?" Obito had asked his former sensei when he was given the assignment of his next genin team. As soon as he saw that Naruto and Sasuke were on the team together, he zeroed in on the third member, because this one would be the lynchpin that made or broke the team. Whether this group of kids could work together as a true team or not would depend on how this third member fit into the pre-established dynamics between Sasuke and Naruto.

He didn't comment on the apparent favoritism of putting one's son together with said son's best friend on the same team. No doubt that was just one of the many factors that contributed to such a match up. There were so much political strings behind this team that just the thought of it was giving Obito a headache.

He was almost glad that the third member was civilian-born, judging by the unassuming family name. There was less baggage connected to a civilian name, never mind their lack of prestige in the shinobi world. What Obito didn't get was why this particular civilian-born. Naruto and Sasuke were both powerhouses, any civilian-born ninja would be hard pressed to keep up with them, let alone the Dead Last. Surely a higher ranked civilian-born would have a better chance of surviving this team.

Minato smiled at him. "We both know that Academy rankings are not a prediction of one's shinobi career." Here Minato's expression became fond, and it was really unfair of sensei to pull that on him.

Obito didn't quite blush - he wasn't a genin anymore - but it was a close thing.

"Take a look at Sakuya-kun's academic history," Minato prompted.

Obito quickly flipped through the rest of the boy's file. His eyebrows climbed ever higher as he perused the contents.

Minato recited the information that Obito was assimilating. "He joined the Academy at age eight, two years after his fellow peers, and despite his lack of a ninja background, he managed to graduate in time with his year mates."

That _was_ rather impressive for a civilian-born, Obito had to admit. With no outside instruction to level the playing field, compounded with a late start, the boy would've had to pull through the Academy on sheer gumption. Even Obito had had relatives to fall back on, sparse as their instruction might be.

"He also has a perpetual habit of tardiness which I think you can relate to," Minato continued, the humor clear in his voice.

Obito snorted.

"According to his teachers, he falls asleep quite often during class. Yet somehow he has kept up with his schoolwork and he's hit every milestone at the average projected pace for civilian-born ninjas. Sakuya-kun may take some work, but he's adaptable. That will be his biggest asset on this team."

Obito sighed. He didn't mind taking on the dead last of the graduating class. In fact, he empathized with them and was quite invested in their success. The problem was Naruto.

Oh Naruto.

He loved the blond. He truly did. But Naruto was too shrewd, perceptive, and set in his ways. It was the worse combination of traits he could've gotten from his parents.

Ever since he was young, Naruto was keenly aware of his status as the Yondaime's son and host to the Kyuubi. As such, people, both young and old, often sought his favor for political advantages. Children were often encouraged by their parents to befriend him. It caused Naruto to doubt the intentions of every person that came his way. Anyone that wasn't preapproved by his parents was immediately subjected to suspicion, and it hindered the blond's social life greatly.

All that, and Obito had yet to take into account the number of kidnapping and assassination attempts on the blond over the years. It was no wonder that Naruto was so distrustful.

But if Naruto didn't learn to extend his hand to others, it would hamper not only his social development, but his future psychological development too.

"Why not Kakashi?" Obito asked in a last ditch effort to drop the proverbial stack of time bomb in his hands.

Naruto respected Kakashi in a different way than he respected Obito. Naruto acknowledged Kakashi's strength as a ninja and would be more likely to listen to Kakashi's commands. Whereas with Obito, the Uchiha could already foresee having his judgment questioned at every turn. He heaved another internal sigh. This is what he got for acting the goof during Naruto's childhood. First impressions were a scary lasting thing.

"I've considered it," Minato revealed. "But Obito, you have a gift when it comes to working with people. I think you will do this team good."

Minato-sensei was really unfair, what with the easy way he buttered people up and got them to do his bidding, Obito thought.

"Okay. I will accept this team." Obito said. "But I have a request, Hokage-sama."

"What is it?"

As Obito talked, Minato gained a wry smile on his face.

"You know the Council will work their knickers into a knot over this," Minato said.

Obito shrugged. "This is my stipulation for taking on the team."

Minato studied his former student. "Very well. I approve your request. But you will understand if I have to set a time limit?"

Obito nodded in acquiesce.

Minato smiled once more. "You will make a fine jonin-sensei for Team Seven, Obito. I am sure of it."

xxx

Obito really did have to wonder, _why_ Haruno Sakuya. The boy was a hard worker. He followed Obito's instructions to a tee and never questioned orders given. He bore no ill will towards his two genius teammates, and never pressured his reluctant teammates for a friendship. Obito detected no ulterior motives in his interactions with the team.

He was the perfect textbook ninja.

And therein, laid Obito's problem with the boy. There was something about Sakuya's easy compliance and quiet nature that did not sit well with Obito. Sakuya reminded Obito of someone. The name of the person was just tickling in the back of his head, but he couldn't quite tease it to the forefront yet.

"Obito in position," Obito said into his headset.

"Sasuke in position," Sasuke's voice came through on the headset.

"Naruto in position."

Team Seven was staking out the forest for their latest D-rank mission. They've been at it for three hours already and the target was still on the loose. It was Obito's most hated D-rank, but that's what he got for being late all the time. All the more interesting or easier missions usually got snatched up first. He repressed a sigh and spoke into the headset.

"Sakuya, are you in position yet?" A long stretch of silence and no answer. "Sakuya?"

"I…"

There was a loud yowl over the headsets that had Naruto cringing.

"Sakuya?!"

A pleased purr rumbled over the headsets.

"Um, I've acquired the target," Sakuya said.

"What?!"

Obito, Naruto, and Sasuke hurried over to Sakuya's position, except he wasn't even in position to begin with.

"Due northeast," Sakuya instructed.

They found Sakuya holding a sloppy cage made out of chicken wire.

"Why weren't you in position?" Sasuke asked.

Sakuya held up the cage by way of explanation. Inside the cage was their target, Tora the cat, batting a bundled up rag between its paws.

"Catnip," Sakuya said. "I got it from the market after receiving our mission."

Naruto clapped Sakuya on the shoulder. Sakuya jumped a little at the touch. "Why didn't you tell us sooner that you had catnip on you, Sakuha-kun? We've been chasing this demon cat for over _three_ hours."

Sakuya turned his shoulders up in a shrug, but to Obito it looked more like the boy was trying to hunch in on himself. "It was not a good time to use it yet. There was a high chance of attracting random strays instead, so I waited until we've isolated the target."

"Still, you could've said something instead of doing it on your own, Sakaya-kun."

Obito placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder to stall any further ranting. Chasing the demon cat was more exhausting than any training regime or B-ranked mission. Obito just wanted the mission over and done with already. He didn't have the energy to watch Naruto and Sakuya go through another argument.

Well, it was more like a one-sided yelling match, with Naruto toeing the line between friendly reprimand and outright berating, while Sakuya watched with impassive eyes and confusion knitted into his brows. It was a headache to handle.

Naruto wasn't wrong. In fact, most of the things he said about Sakuya were valid. Sakuya didn't so much as work _with_ the team as he did _alongside_ it. The pink haired boy would go off on his own sometimes if he thought it would complete the mission quicker and more efficiently.

There was nothing wrong with _that_ either, except that he never consulted with his team about his change in plans. The only reason Obito hadn't chided the boy yet was because his decisions have all been sound so far, and Naruto was already giving the other boy an earful, so Obito couldn't find the right moment to step in.

Another factor of this headache was that Naruto himself was a black pot calling the kettle black. Naruto would preach to Sakuya about the importance of teamwork and communication, yet he held Sakuya at arms length and he would subtly leave Sakuya out of team bonding exercises. Sakuya must've subconsciously picked up on this duality if the confusion on his face was any evidence.

Something had to change, and soon. Or else, this team will never pass the teamwork test.

Obito clapped his hands together. "Mission accomplished. Should we head back to the tower now?"

Sasuke and Sakuya nodded at him while Naruto crossed his arms with a grumble. Naruto's face was still covered in scratches from the last failed attempt at acquiring the target, although the scratches were already fading. Obito smiled at his team and ushered them out of the forest. Soon they will be done with this twice-damned mission. If Obito never had to see the demon cat again it would be too soon.

"Good work," Iruka smiled as he accepted Team Seven's mission report.

Obito smiled back. Out of all the mission office workers, the Academy teacher was by far his favorite. Iruka was polite and always ready with a soothing smile. Obito could see that he wasn't the only one to think so. He caught sight of Sakuya giving a small smile to the chunin. Wait. Obito rubbed his eyes. Sakuya was smiling? As quickly as it came the smile was gone, but it was the first time Obito had seen such an expression on the pink haired boy's face. And wasn't that telling of something wrong with Team Seven if the boy had never once smiled in their presence.

"Ah. Kakashi-san. Thank you for your hard work," Iruka said, checking and then filing away the mission report that the jonin handed in.

"Kakashi!" Obito exclaimed.

"Yo," Kakashi gave him a lazy two finger wave. He still wore the mask and his hair was as unruly as ever, long snow-white spikes flopped over his forehead and nearly obscured his left eye.

Kakashi was still a scary efficient ninja and punctual as always, but over the years he had adopted a lazy and laidback attitude to cultivate a non-threatening image. He had also picked up the disturbing habit of reading porn in public. Thanks to a certain white haired Sannin no doubt. Obito was just glad that the offending orange book was nowhere in sight while his impressionable students were there.

"Kakashi-nii!" Naruto bounded over to the silver haired jonin.

"Kakashi-niisan." Sasuke followed at a more sedate pace.

The jonin ruffled their hair. "My two little boys are all grown up and running missions now." Kakahsi flicked a tuff of fur out from behind Naruto's ear. "Your first Tora mission I see."

Naruto blushed and swatted at Kakashi's hand. While Naruto normally accepted the gesture without fuss, Obito guessed the blond didn't want to show Sakuya that display of affection.

And that was troubling.

Naruto really didn't trust his third teammate.

Kakashi noticed the change in attitude and immediately pinpointed the source. While his posture remained in a lazy slouch, his gaze had sharpened. "That must be your other teammate."

Alarm bells rang in Obito's head at Kakashi's tone of voice. Kakashi had just identified Sakuya as a stress factor for Naruto and is treating the pink haired boy as a hostile object. Kakashi was careful not to let his thoughts show, and Iruka did not detect anything wrong in Kakashi's tone of voice, but Obito knew Kakashi inside and out, and he could call the man out on his bullshit from a mile away.

"Yes, that's Haruno Sakuya," Sasuke said.

Sakuya stood at parade rest with his hands behind his back. He looked at Kakashi steadily, never once suspecting the intent behind the jonin's gaze.

Obito stepped between them, blocking Sakuya from Kakashi's view. He didn't understand why he felt protective of Sakuya. Was it because Sakuya reminded Obito of himself? Whatever it was, something about Sakuya brought out the protective instincts in Obito.

"Aren't my students cute?" Obito grinned.

Kakashi's eyes flicked up to his old teammate's face. They held each other's gaze for two eternal seconds and then Kakashi's eyes softened, deferring judgment to Obito. This was Obito's genin team after all, and Kakashi trusted Obito's judgment, but that didn't mean Kakashi wouldn't remain vigilant.

"Maa, maa. I'm not sure if you can call this one cute," Kakashi petted Sasuke's hair. "Only his stupid brother* is blind enough to think so. Then again, you're kind of stupid yourself, Obito."

Both Sasuke and Obito raged at Kakashi for that comment. Naruto laughed while Iruka shook his head at their antics, and Sakuya just watched silently from the background.

It was only after bidding his genin team and his old teammate good-bye that a thought occurred to Obito and it finally clicked. The reason why he looked out for Sakuya so much and tried to assimilate him into Team Seven… Sakuya who prioritized the mission before communication with his team… who always respected his jonin-sensei… who had no concept of teamwork… who was like the perfect textbook ninja. Sakuya, a socially inept ninja, who was thrust into a team where the other two were already long time friends…

Sakuya reminded Obito a lot of a young Kakashi.

xxx

Sasuke supposed they could've done a lot worse than Haruno Sakuya. The boy may be the dead last, but at least he was hardworking. He never complained about harsh training with the team, remedial lessons with Obito-sensei, D-rank missions, or Naruto's passive-aggressive behavior towards him. Yes, Sasuke was well aware of Naruto's paranoia around strangers and he knew exactly what the blond was trying to do, but Naruto was also his best friend, and if Sasuke had to pick between the two, he would always choose Naruto. Without fail.

Still, he did have to feel a little sorry for the pink haired boy. Sakuya have not done anything yet to warrant the type of attitude that Naruto took with him. The boy was neither a fanboy nor was he jealous of his teammates superior talents. If he was, then he was a damn good actor because it didn't show. First impression had Sasuke pegging the other boy as meek and perhaps a bookworm, but that wasn't really the case. Sakuya was simply quiet, eerily so. He didn't talk without prompting and even when prompted his sentences were always succinct and to the point. Though he did on occasion falter into stutters when faced with Naruto's forthright belligerence.

There was something really clinical and impersonal about Sakuya. It was hard for Sasuke to find common ground with the boy, and maybe that's why Sasuke thought of Sakuya as something less than human. Perhaps that was just a justification of letting Naruto's behavior run uncheck, but if the target wasn't human then feelings won't be hurt. It was certainly harder to feel guilty about letting Sakuya be bullied when the boy showed no emotion on his face.

But it wasn't as if Sasuke didn't try to restrain Naruto when the blond was stepping out of line too much. Even as best friends Sasuke knew he had put his foot down and call Naruto out on his bullshit every so often. The role of a bully didn't suit Naruto, and Sasuke could tell that it hurt Naruto too, to have to put on a mask. It was just that Obito ran interference so much smoother than Sasuke that the younger Uchiha usually left the situation in their sensei's hands.

Right now the team was sparring in training ground seven. It has become their go-to training ground. Currently Naruto was up against Sakuya with their sensei as referee. Neither Sasuke nor Obito trusted the two to fight without supervision, and that was just depressing if Sasuke really thought about it, which was why he ignored that little voice in the back of his head called conscience.

Sasuke cringed as he watched Naruto K.O. their teammate. Sakuya flew across the field. Naruto straightened out of his fighting stance and didn't pursue Sakuya's flying form. He knew the fight was over.

Sasuke ran and caught their teammate before he could hit the ground. Sakuya was battered enough without adding collusion with the ground to the list of abuse.

"He's out cold," Sasuke said as Obito jogged over.

"I was going to end training early anyways since I have something to do today." Obito knelt down to give Sakuya a once over, assessing his injuries. Satisfied that the boy wasn't due a hospital visit, Obito straightened back up. "I better go now before I'm late."

"What about Sakuya?" Sasuke asked before their sensei could ditch them.

"Can the two of you patch him up and take him home?" Obito asked.

"We don't even know where he lives," Naruto protested.

"Don't worry, I have the addresses of all my cute students memorized." Obito gave them the address, and then reminded them, "Remember we have a special survival training planned for tomorrow, so don't be late."

A scoff. "Don't be late he says."

Obito ignored the jibe. With a jaunty wave he Body Flickered away. "I'm counting on you guys to take care of Sakuya."

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. "I am not carrying him."

" _You_ did this to him," Sasuke countered, "so you're carrying him. Unless you want to treat his injuries?"

"Feh."

"Thought so."

Sasuke retrieved his first aid kit and started to clean and bandage the worse of Sakuya's wounds. Naruto crouched next to them and watched with his chin propped on his knuckles and a pout on his face.

"Lucky bastard."

"Hmm?" Sasuke muttered distractedly.

"Why are you and Obito-sensei so nice to him? Obito-sensei always singles him out for extra lessons and you're always helping him with tips and advice." Both Naruto and Sasuke have taken to addressing Obito as sensei when they're in the vicinity of Sakuya, and it seems like Naruto intended to stick to that decision even though their third teammate was out cold.

Sasuke refrained from answering right away. He didn't think he was being particularly nice to Sakuya, at least no more polite than how he treated the rest of his classmates, but there was no denying that Sasuke was more patient with Sakuya's shortcomings. Were this back in the Academy, Sasuke would've walked off long ago. Then again, they were a team now so walking away wasn't an option.

"We're a team now, of course we have to look after each other. You _know_ what a stickler Obito-sensei is about teamwork," Sasuke replied, but he knew that wasn't the real reason.

Naruto's apparent dislike for Sakuya was obvious to everyone in the team even if Naruto pretended to be cordial. Upholding justice and public morals was the duty of the Uchiha Police Force, but Sasuke just couldn't find it within him to thoroughly reprimand the blond yet, so Sasuke tried to make it up to Sakuya in other ways. He felt… guilty for not setting Naruto straight.

"Only you two are still preaching about teamwork, Haruno obviously doesn't care about us. He always goes off on his own and never tries to communicate with us. Any one else would know how lucky they are to be placed on a team as awesome as us, but Haruno doesn't appreciate what he has at all."

"Then do you _want_ Sakuya to throw himself at your feet?"

"No…"

"So what's the problem?" They have never truly sat down and talked about Sakuya before, but Sasuke was starting to get a little irritated at Naruto's hypocrisy. Naruto didn't want a fangirl… or boy in this case, but now he was complaining that their teammate wasn't acting like one?

"I don't trust him," Naruto said. "What if this is all an act to get us to like him. You and Obito-sensei have already fallen for it."

Sasuke sighed. "I don't like him."

"Don't you now? Then why are being so gentle right now? You've never been that careful when you treated _my_ injuries."

"Sakuya is a civilian. He's not built like you, Naruto."

Naruto huffed. "Civilian. Must be nice. He doesn't have any expectations or burdens heaped on him since birth. I bet his parents are proud of him just because he made it to genin. It probably doesn't matter to him if he makes it to chunin or not, except to look good. I have to live under my father's shadow, and you have-"

Sasuke cut him off. "Naruto. Are you… jealous?"

"Huh? What?" Naruto stood up and backed away as if to put physical distance between himself and the notion. "No. Of course not! Why would I be jealous of Haruno of all people?"

"Because he is a civilian?"

"Th- That's absurd."

Sasuke hid a smile and shrugged. "I won't press the issue if you don't want to admit it." He taped off the last bandage on Sakuya's arm. "Now turn around. I'm done."

Naruto grudgingly turned around and offered his back. Sasuke hefted Sakuya up onto Naruto's back. The blond grumbled but held Sakuya in a secured grip and he didn't purposely jostle Sakuya as they walked. Sasuke counted it as a small victory.

xxx

They arrived at Sakuya's home. It was the simple two-story building of a middle class family. But even without the Sharingan Sasuke could see the rundown state of the house. The paint job was chipped in so many places that it made the house look like a crackled egg. There was rust on the exposed pipelines. The pavement was cracked. And the leaky roof was patched with planks of wood.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the place, but Naruto wasn't paying it any attention, too busy avoiding the cracks in the road. Sasuke approached the house first and rang the bell. Naruto reached the front porch just as the door opened to reveal a blonde haired woman dressed in a kimono. The kimono was a simple design and the quality wasn't the finest, but it was still rare to see anyone wearing a kimono on a day-to-day basis, and the woman wore the kimono like a noble lady, her posture was perfect and her hair was immaculate. Her face was regal too, done with just a touch of makeup to enhance her features. Sasuke could see the clear resemblance between her and their teammate. Someday, Sakuya would grow up to look like this, too.

There was immediate recognition followed by surprise on the woman's face when she laid eyes on Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke fought down a cringe as it looked like she might pounce on them any second, but she composed herself and asked in a polite voice, "How may I help- oh! Sakuya!" The woman's eyes softened as she caught sight of her son.

Naruto eased Sakuya off his back. Sasuke came in to help support the boy's weight as they returned the boy to his mother. Sakuya groaned at the shift in position and his eyes fluttered open. His sight was still glazed over with sleep, but he started to take more of his weight on his feet.

"Sakuya was knocked out after training, so we brought him home," Sasuke said. He carefully avoided mention of Naruto's name.

"Training? But I thought-" Confusion changed to dawning comprehension. "Are you perchance Sakuya's genin teammates?"

"Yes, we are," Sasuke said haltingly. Now it was _his_ turn to be confused. Didn't Sakuya tell his mother about his team?

Sakuya's mother beamed in delight and then she bowed to them. "Thank you for bringing my son home. Would you two like to come in for some tea?"

"No thank you, ma'am. We're expected home for dinner. We have to go now," Naruto said with diplomatic politeness.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Sasuke told Sakuya.

Sakuya nodded, but his face held uncertainty now. It was a new expression and it sparked curiosity in Sasuke.

Sakuya's mother bowed once more and closed the door. There was silence in the house as Sakuya took off his ninja sandals and trudged deeper into the house.

Sasuke turned to go, but Naruto stopped him with a hand on his elbow. Naruto cocked his head towards the house and signed to him in the standard Konoha ninja sign language 'surveillance.' Sasuke arched an eyebrow. So Naruto was curious too. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing though. Was it another one of Naruto's paranoid tendencies or was Naruto starting to get curious about their third teammate?

Sasuke nodded and they crept around the house to eavesdrop from under a window. Gently channeling chakra to their ears to enhance their hearing they settled in for a wait, but they didn't have to wait long for the first signs of dialogue.

"You didn't tell me that your teammates were _the_ Namikaze Naruto and _the_ Uchiha Sasuke," Sakuya's mother sounded giddy.

"What?" Sakuya's voice was still rough from sleep, but he sounded more alert now.

"Didn't you say your teammates were Sato Takeshi and Suzuki Mimi?" His mother continued blithely.

Sasuke vaguely remembered that those were the names of two mediocre civilian-borns from their class. He doubted Naruto would recognize their names. And indeed, the blond was frowning in thought as he dug through his memories to no avail, but it was easy enough to deduce that they were civilian-borns.

The question then was why would Sakuya lie to his mother about his team placement?

"And who's your jonin-sensei?" Sakuya's mother asked.

"I told you it was-"

"Tsk, tsk. Don't lie to your mother. The same trick won't work twice."

"… Uchiha… Obito." Sakuya sounded defeated.

" _The_ Teleportation God Uchiha Obito?!" His mother exclaimed with excitement. "That's _wonderful_. What luck that you were placed in such a distinguished team. Oh, this is the best news I've heard since you decided to go off and play ninja. If you must insist upon this ninja fantasy of yours then you should at least use these connections to secure your future in that world," his mother gushed.

Naruto's fists clenched at those words. It was his worse fear come to life, having a leech of a teammate. Sasuke reached out a hand to detain Naruto in case his friend punched in the wall from anger, but Sakuya's sharp voice cut through the miasma cloud.

"Kaa-san!" Sakuya was fully awake now and he sounded absolutely scandalized. "I am _not_ going to use my teammates, my jonin-sensei, or _anybody_ like that!"

Sasuke had never heard their third teammate raise his voice like that.

"Don't you take that tone with me young man," his mother said, affronted. "I'm just trying to look out for your prospects. This world is all about connections, whether you're a civilian or a ninja. Without connections, you can't get anywhere in life. Even the revival of the family business was thanks to your connections with Fujishima-hime."

"Himiko-san is my _friend_. I didn't-"

"And that's precisely why she and the lord gave our shop their patronage so many years ago." His mother's reprimanding voice then went soft, "Don't you see, Sakuya? Even if you don't have the intention to use them, having friends in high places can only help you in life. You should take this chance given to you and endear yourself to your teammates and jonin-sensei. They're strong, too. They can protect you on dangerous missions."

There was a sharp intake of breath and then Sakuya's voice rumbled in a soft, restraint growl, "A ninja does not have the luxury of relying on others, kaa-san. I will become a chunin on my own."

"Sakuya…" his mother's voice was watery and muffled behind her hand.

"... I- I'm sorry, kaa-san. I didn't mean to upset you." A sigh. "I know what I signed up for when I decided on this path. I'm not a kid playing ninja, kaa-san. I _will_ become a chunin and I will do it my way. I am an adult now. I know what I'm doing, so don't worry, okay?"

"You're still a child!"

"Genin are recognized as adults, kaa-san."

"That's wrong!"

"That's… just the way things are." Another sigh. "I'm tired, kaa-san. I'm going to sleep now. I don't need dinner. You don't have to cook my share tonight."

The sound of creaking stairs marked the end of the conversation as Sakuya climbed upstairs to the second floor. His mother collapsed to the floor and cried softly into her hands.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other. They've heard enough. Without having to communicate, they left the scene. Naruto's brows were knitted together and turmoil danced in the shine of his eyes. They just witnessed a different side to their teammate, and it wasn't what Naruto had expected. It left the blond confused and frustrated to have his preconceived views challenged so.

Sasuke was also silent, for he, too, had a lot to think about.

xxx

The next day Sasuke arrived at the usual training ground fifteen minutes early. Naruto joined him at seven o' clock on the dot still yawning and half asleep. They exchanged greetings and then lapsed into silence as Naruto tried to get this bearings. But when half an hour had passed and neither Sakuya nor Obito had yet to show up, Naruto started to get agitated.

"Geez, what was all that crap yesterday about being a serious ninja if he can't even arrive on time?" Naruto grumbled, but there was less heat in his voice than usual and a contemplative frown on his face.

"It doesn't seem like his family supports his shinobi career," Sasuke remarked.

"His mother doesn't, but maybe his father still does," Naruto said absently.

"Do you know who his father is?" Sasuke asked, realizing the lack of information they have on their third teammate. Which wasn't a surprise, considering their previous lack of interest.

Naruto shrugged. They lapsed into another bout of silence and then Naruto asked, "Why do you think he was so fixated on becoming a chunin. Why not aim higher?"

"Not everyone wants to be Hokage, Naruto."

"I _know_ that," Naruto snipped.

Sasuke shrugged. "He probably has his reasons. Why don't you ask him?"

"Hmm… maybe I will." Naruto spun and threw a barrage of shuriken into the bushes. "Show yourself!"

Sasuke slid into a ready stance, hands armed with kunai.

"Heh heh heh." A man dressed in a long black cloak appeared. A conical straw hat perched atop his head and a porcelain mask hid his face from view. "Looks like our information was correct," the man continued to chuckled.

"Who are you?" Naruto growled, voice low.

"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is… Who. Are. You?"

Sasuke's eyes widened and his irises bled red. This man knew who Naruto was. That was bad. He's probably here for the Kyuubi or he intends to kidnap Naruto as bait against the Yondaime. Whatever the reason, they can't let him succeed. Sasuke moved to cover Naruto's back but a hail of shuriken blocked his path. Sasuke was forced to leap backwards. He brought his kunai up in time to deflect a wakizashi.

Sasuke landed on his feet, skid across the grass, and left a furrow in his wake. Before him were two more ninjas dressed in a similar fashion to the man. One of them held the wakizashi that attacked Sasuke. The Uchiha grimaced and prepared himself for battle. From the corner of his eye he tracked Naruto doing battle with the first man and a fourth ninja. Then he was forced to engage the other two as they jumped him. Sasuke never cursed Obito's lateness like he did then. At the same time he hoped for Sakuya to be later than their sensei, although that has never happened before. No one had yet to break Obito's record of tardiness.

As if the thought had summoned him, Sakuya stepped onto the edge of the training field still yawning and rubbing sleep from his eyes. He was far enough from the fighting that he could still make it out of there. Sasuke just hoped the pink haired boy came to his senses before the enemy ninja caught sight of him- too late.

The one with the wakizashi disengaged and charged after Sakuya. Sasuke tried to give chase but was stopped by the other ninja.

"Sakuya! RUN!" Sasuke shouted.

Sakuya's first instinct was to duck as the wakizashi sailed over his head. In the next second he summoned a kunai to his hand as he back flipped to put space between him and the enemy. Sakuya was clearly confused as he parried the first couple of strikes from the wakizashi user, and his confusion led to hesitation. His enemy capitalized on that weakness to press forward. Sakuya managed to disarm his enemy and then the two were tussling on the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Naruto delivered a kick to one of his opponents, hard enough to send the person flying. The enemy ninja sailed across the air and landed a little too close to Sakuya for comfort. The enemy noticed this advantage. Sakuya's opponent forced the pink haired boy backwards and trapped him in a pincer attack with his ally. Then the two ninjas made off with Sakuya.

The two ninjas still fighting Naruto and Sasuke disengaged to followed after their teammates.

"Come back here," Naruto growled, ready to give chase.

Sasuke flitted forward and caught Naruto around the arm before the blond could run off. "Wait, Naruto! Their target is obviously you. They're trying to use Sakuya to bait you. We should report to Obito-sensei or-"

"We don't have time to get reinforcements."

"Listen to me, Naruto!"

The sound of static popping caught their attention.

" _Did you acquire the target?_ "

" _No. But we got ourselves a large bait._ "

" _And a pretty one at that._ "

The two boys looked at each other and then frantically searched for the source. They found an earpiece in the area where Sakuya had fought. It must've fallen off from the enemy ninja during the tussle.

" _Who sent you? What are you after?_ "

Naruto startled. It was Sakuya's voice. The boy sounded strained as if something was pressing against his diaphragm.

" _Wouldn't_ you _like to know?_ " A voice taunted their teammate.

The dialogue was interspersed with static caused by the rushing wind. Their enemy was on the move. But where were they heading? Out of the village or were they laying a trap?

" _Yes._ " It was hard to tell over the static, but was that sarcasm in Sakuya's voice? " _Why go through the trouble of infiltrating Konoha just to capture a no-name ninja?"_

Laughter sounded over the headset. " _Don't think too highly of yourself kid. You're not the real target here."_

A scoff. " _My teammates then? They're just kids._ "

" _Ah, but they're not just any ordinary children._ "

"… _So you know who they are. Then why take me if I'm not your real target?_ "

" _Didn't you hear, sweet cheeks? You're going to be the bait._ "

A beat of silence and then Sakuya began to chuckle. It was a dark sound, so far removed from his usual image, that Sasuke and Naruto had trouble reconciling the two.

" _You've miscalculated. A ninja like me is not even useful to you as bait._ "

" _That's where you're wrong sweet cheeks. You soft tree huggers would never abandon a comrade. Your friends will come for you._ "

" _And that's where_ you're _wrong._ " Sakuya's voice was full of self-deprecation." _We may be on a team, but they're only forced to work together with me. We're not friends. They hate me."_

Sasuke's heart clenched as he remembered his words from the day before. _"I don't like him,"_ he had said to Naruto. Did Sakuya's subconscious absorb those words and twisted them into nightmare taunts during his sleep?

Sakuya continued, voice now flat, neutral, and matter-of-fact, " _Those two would happily see me die and be replaced by someone more competent. I bet they're already on their way to alert the Hokage of this security breach. I'd suggest you cut your losses and leave the village now."_

Someone punched Sakuya in the gut and he made a hacking sound of pain.

" _You talk too much, little boy._ "

" _Careful, we need to keep him alive._ "

Sakuya chuckled. " _You might as well kill me now. My team won't come for me_."

It was like a sledgehammer to the gut. Sakuya had absolutely no faith in his team, and Sasuke couldn't fault him for that. They had done nothing to prove their dependability as teammates. The only one Sakuya could possibly rely on without a heavy dose of doubt was their sensei, and Obito wasn't there.

And the worse part was, Sakuya was right.

Sasuke wouldn't go after him.

Not if it meant putting Naruto's safety on the line.

Even if Sasuke had started to see Sakuya in a new light, even if he was beginning to trust Sakuya from the heart and not just trust him as someone to complete missions with…

Between Naruto and Sakuya, Sasuke would always choose Naruto.

Without fail.

… Right?

Sasuke turned to his best friend. Plastic and metal creaked in the vice grip of Naruto's hand. There was _anger_ in the way he bared his teeth. Naruto brought the communication device close to his mouth.

"Hang on! WE'RE COMING FOR YOU, SAKUYA!"

* * *

Author's Note: About Sakuya's mother, she is not a villain in this story. She is simply trying to protect her child and doing what she thinks is best for him. And as a civilian her opinions will differ greatly from a ninja's sensibilities. That is not to say she isn't trying to impress her views on her child (everyone does that from time to time, not just parents), but I'm saying that it doesn't make her a bad person even if the readers, and Sakuya himself, disagree with her.

Please let me know if there's a scene or element in the story that you like so I can know what to expand on.


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